679 and 680 arrived on 7 February in base little berry and generic
livery. Once branded, 679 entered service on 26 February whilst 680 went
away for corrections to the paint colour before entering service on 31
March.
A Ford Fiesta GL67 ECT was acquired in February for inspectors,
numbered 370. It indirectly replaced 364 which was withdrawn in July
2019.
The order for five Optare Metrodeckers was cancelled in July due to
production delays and Covid-19.
Allocations
140/1 were withdrawn in December 2019, having been replaced by the
recent new vehicles in Slough, and were repainted into dealer white and returned
to Dawson Rentals in January.
192 transferred to Courtney Buses in January, being repainted into
Thames Valley light purple Heathrow livery with branding for route 459,
replacing demonstrator 100 from 3 February. 191 followed suit in
February gained Thames Valley generic light grey branding.
179 transferred to Newbury Mill Lane in January to help provide ad-hoc support
(176/7 being at N&D doing the same). All three were withdrawn in April and moved to Reading
for storage along with 178 pending sale.
215 left for scrap on 30 January.
183 was withdrawn in March, but repaired in April using parts from
withdrawn 184.
532-5 and 1105 were withdrawn from service at the end of 20 March,
followed by 1114 on 21 March. 1105/14 were sold to PC Coaches, Lincoln,
departing on 7 April. 532-5 were sold to Southern Coaches on 12 June,
but remain in store in Reading.
538 was withdrawn at the end of March being surplus to requirements,
and was sold to LC Commercials on 21 April.
Operation of the Newbury Kennections network transferred from
Reading Buses to Newbury & District on 20 April, along with vehicles
161, 162, 165, 166 which will be repainted in the coming months. 1407
was used to release a branded double decker to replace 1105.
1407 transferred to Newbury & District on 27 July 2020 following the
termination of the Oxfordshire school contract in Reading.
862 was sold to SBC Leisure on 30 June.
1209 transferred to Courtney Buses in August 2020 to replace 862,
being repainted into Thames Valley generic livery in the process.
Loans
380 went on loan to OTS Falmouth from 29 May until 6 July.
751-55 went on loan to Courtney Buses in Bracknell on 31 March to
provide additional capacity on routes 171/2 and 194 for Coronavirus
Covid-19 social distancing. 752 returned on 6 August, re-entering
service on 8 August. 754 followed on 8 August, re-entering service on 11
August.
Livery
1401/2 gained Newbury & District lettering on base Reading Buses
livery in February 2020.
163 went away for repaint into N&D livery on 26 February,
entering service with N&D on 16 April.
414 was repainted into Leopard livery from Tiger in January
following reductions to the Tiger route, returning to service on 7th
February. 422 was repainted into
Leopard livery from Chris Mears gold livery in February. 412/3,
424-29 lost their branding for "the Lexicon" in January
ahead of the
withdrawal of the 3b extension to Bracknell, and 430 lost it's
unique additional Bracknell lettering in February. New photos of 422 and 430 added.
700 went away for repaint into Royal Blue livery on 21 February,
returning on 21 March.
135 was repainted into Thames Valley livery with purple
Maidenhead branding during July.
139 was repainted into Thames Valley base grey during July.
131-3 gained Thames Valley Wokingham lettering
on base Reading Buses orange livery on 5 August, ahead of their
transfer to Courtney Buses. 132 transferred on 17 August, with 131/3
expected for entery into service from 1 September.
127 was repainted into Thames Valley livery
with purple Maidenhead branding during August, being completed on
18th.
Demonstrators
Optare Solo SR EV 100 was parked up out of use after 31 January
as expected, and returned to Optare on 17 February.
Optare Metrodecker 899 was withdrawn on 21 March with the
suspension of Green Line 702 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, and was
returned to Optare on 27 July following the cancellation of the new
vehicle order and a repaint into London red.
Modifications
201 went away for conversion to diesel on 22 June, being swapped for
204 on 12 August.
204 went away for refurbishment and repaint on 23 June, being
swapped for 201 on 12 August.
208 went away for repaint into Yellow 26 livery and minor trim
repairs on 30 June.
Reading Transport ColourBuses:
New photos of 706, 1114 with
liveries for Autism Berkshire
and Sport in Mind added, and of
the livery on 1201 for the
Reading Buses app. 1202 gained a
new ColourBus livery for the company's 2020 charity of the year Sport in
Mind, unveiled at a launch on 30 January. 1209 lost its Reading Football
Club livery on transfer to Courtney Buses in August 2020.
Reading Transport MegaRears: 219 and 220 gained MegaRears for Just Tiles
in April 2018, followed by 211
in approximately August 2018. 1211 lost its MegaRear for Just Tiles in
approx August 2018. 219 lots its rear on repaint in October 2018. New
photo of the MegaRear on 1113
added.